Method for actuating a tactile interface layer

ABSTRACT

A method for actuating a tactile interface layer of a device that defines a surface with a deformable region, comprising the steps of deforming a deformable region of the surface into a formation tactilely distinguishable from the surface, detecting a force from the user on a deformed deformable region, interpreting the force as a command for the deformable region, and manipulating the deformable region of the surface based on the command.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/635,304, filed 2 Mar. 2015, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/090,217, filed on 19 Apr. 2011, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/325,772, filed on 19 Apr. 2010, which are both incorporated in their entireties by this reference.

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/969,848 filed on 4 Jan. 2008, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/319,334 filed on 5 Jan. 2009, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/497,622 filed on 3 Jul. 2009, which are all incorporated in their entirety by this reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to tactile user interfaces, and more specifically to a new and useful method for interpreting gestures as commands for a tactile interface layer with a deformable region.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the method of the first preferred embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the method of the second preferred embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a variation of the tactile interface layer.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of a variation of the tactile interface layer.

FIGS. 5A-5C are cross-sectional views illustrating the operation of a deformable region of a tactile interface layer.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of a variation of the tactile interface layer with a valve.

FIGS. 7A-9B are schematic representations of a first, second, and third variation in the manipulation of the firmness of the deformed particular region in the first preferred embodiment.

FIGS. 10A-11C are schematic representations of a first and second variation in the manipulation of a first and second particular region in the second preferred embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention is not intended to limit the invention to these preferred embodiments, but rather to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use this invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the method S100 for actuating a tactile interface layer 100 of a device that defines a surface with a deformable region of the preferred embodiments includes deforming a deformable region of the surface into a formation tactilely distinguishable from the surface Step S110 and S210, detecting a force from the user on the deformed region of the surface Steps S120 and S220, interpreting a command for the deformable region of the surface based on the detected force, and manipulating the deformable regions based on the command. In the first preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the step of interpreting a command includes interpreting the force on the deformable region as a command for the firmness of the deformed deformable region Step S130 and the step of manipulating the deformable regions based on the command includes manipulating the firmness of the deformable region of the surface based on the command Step S140. In the second preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the tactile interface layer includes a first and second deformable region and the step of interpreting a command includes interpreting the force on the deformed deformable region as a command to undeform the first deformable region and to deform the second deformable region into formation tactilely distinguishable from the surface Step S230 and the step of manipulating the deformable regions based on the command includes manipulating the first and second deformable regions based on the command Step S240. The method S100 for actuating a tactile interface layer 100 of a device may also include detecting a force from the user on a plurality of deformed deformable regions, which may also include the step of detecting the sequence in which a force is detected on each of the deformed deformable regions. In this variation, the step of interpreting a command may include interpreting a command for at least one deformable region of the surface based on the detected sequence of forces. However, any other suitable type of force detection relative to the deformed deformable regions of the surface may be used.

The method S100 of the first and second preferred embodiments for actuating a tactile interface layer 100 may also include the step of receiving a user input for a particular interpretation of a force as a command Step S150. The step of receiving a user input for a particular interpretation of a force as a command Step S150 may include receiving a user input from the user of the device, but may alternatively include receiving a user input from a person remote from the device, for example, a third party such as the manufacturer or a second user. However, the user input for a particular interpretation of a force as a command may be received from any other suitable user. The method S100 is preferably applied to a tactile interface layer 100 that is to be used with an electronic device. More preferably, in an electronic device that benefits from an adaptive user interface. The electronic device may or may not include a display and/or a touch sensor, for example, an automotive console, a steering wheel, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a television, a radio, a desk phone, a mobile phone, a PDA, a personal navigation device, a personal media player, a camera, a watch, a remote control, a mouse, a trackpad, or a keyboard. The tactile interface layer 100 may, however, be used as the user interface for any suitable device that interfaces with a user in a tactile and/or visual manner. The tactile interface layer 100 is preferably integrated with the device, for example, in the variation wherein the tactile interface layer 100 includes a sensor 140, the tactile interface layer 100 is preferably assembled into the device and presented to the user as one unit. Alternatively, the tactile interface layer 100 may function as an accessory to a device, the user may be presented the tactile interface layer 100 and the device as two separate units wherein, when coupled to each other, the tactile interface layer 100 functions to provide tactile guidance to the user and/or to receive user inputs. However, the method S100 may be applied to any other suitable arrangement of the tactile interface layer 100.

The method S100 of the preferred embodiments is preferably applied to any suitable tactile interface layer that includes deformable regions. In particular, as shown in FIGS. 3-5, the method S100 of the preferred embodiments may be applied to the user interface system as described in U.S. application Ser. Nos. 11/969,848, 12/319,334, and 12/497,622. The tactile interface layer 100 of this variation preferably includes a layer 110 that defines a surface 115, a substrate 120 that supports the layer 110 and at least partially defines a fluid vessel 127 that includes a volume of fluid 112, and a displacement device 130 coupled to the fluid vessel 127 that manipulates the volume of fluid 112 to expand and/or contract at least a portion of the fluid vessel 127, thereby deforming a particular region 113 of the surface 115. The substrate 115 may also function to substantially prevent the layer 110 from inwardly deforming, for example, into the fluid vessel 127. In this variation of the tactile interface layer 100, the steps of manipulating the deformable region of the surface based on the command Steps S140 and S240 preferably include manipulating the fluid within the fluid vessel 127. In particular, the displacement device 130 is preferably actuated to manipulate the fluid within the fluid vessel 127 to deform a particular region 113 of the surface. The fluid vessel 127 preferably includes a cavity 125 and the displacement device 130 preferably influences the volume of fluid 112 within the cavity 125 to expand and retract the cavity 125. However, any other suitable method of manipulating the fluid 112 may be used.

The fluid vessel 127 may alternatively be a channel 138 or a combination of a channel 138 and a cavity 125, as shown in FIG. 4. The fluid vessel 127 may also include a second cavity 125 b in addition to a first cavity 125 a. When the second cavity 125 b is expanded, a second particular region 113 on the surface 115 is preferably deformed. The displacement device 130 preferably influences the volume of fluid 112 within the second cavity 125 b independently of the first cavity 125 a. As shown in FIG. 6, the tactile interface layer of this variation may include a valve 139 that functions to direct fluid within the tactile interface layer 100. In this variation, the step of manipulating the fluid within the fluid vessel 127 may include actuating the valve 139 to direct fluid within the tactile interface layer 100. Alternatively, the user interface enhancement system 100 may include a second displacement device 130 that functions to influence the volume of fluid 112 within the second cavity 125 b to expand and retract the second cavity 125 b, thereby deforming a second particular region 113 b of the surface. The second cavity 125 b is preferably similar or identical to the cavity 125, but may alternatively be any other suitable kind of cavity. The following examples may be described as expanding a fluid vessel 127 that includes a cavity 125 and a channel 138, but the fluid vessel 127 may be any other suitable combination of combination of cavity 125 and/or channel 138. However, any other suitable type of tactile interface layer 100 may be used.

The tactile interface layer 100 preferably functions to provide tactile guidance to the user when using a device that tactile interface layer 100 to. As shown in FIG. 5, the surface 115 of the tactile interface layer 100 preferably remains flat until tactile guidance is to be provided to the user at the location of the particular region 113. In the variation of the tactile interface layer 100 as described above, the displacement device 130 then preferably expands the cavity 125 (or any other suitable portion of the fluid vessel 127) to expand the particular region 113 outward, forming a deformation that may be felt by a user (referenced throughout this document as a “tactilely distinguishable formation”), and providing tactile guidance for the user. The expanded particular region 113 preferably also provides tactile feedback to the user when he or she applies force onto the particular region 113 to provide input. This tactile feedback may be the result of Newton's third law, whenever a first body (the user's finger) exerts a force on a second body (the surface 115), the second body exerts an equal and opposite force on the first body, or, in other words, a passive tactile response. Alternatively, the displacement device 130 may retract the cavity 125 to deform the particular region 113 inward. However, any other suitable method of deforming a particular region 113 of the tactile interface layer 100 may be used.

The tactile interface layer 100 preferably includes a sensor that functions to detect the force applied to the deformed particular region 113 by the user. The force may be a force that substantially inwardly deforms the deformed particular region 113 of the surface, but may alternatively be a force that does not substantially inwardly deform the deformed particular region 113. However, any other suitable type of force may be detected. For example, in the variation of the tactile layer as described above, the sensor may be a pressure sensor that functions to detect the increased pressure within the fluid 112 that results from an inward deformation of the deformed particular region 113. Alternatively, the sensor may be a capacitive sensor that detects the presence of a finger on the deformed particular region 113. In this variation, the presence of a force is deduced from the detected presence of the finger of the user. Alternatively, the sensor may be a sensor included in the device to which the tactile interface layer 100 is applied to, for example, the device may include a touch sensitive display onto which the tactile interface layer 100 is overlaid. The force of the user may be detected using the sensing capabilities of the touch sensitive display. However, any other suitable force detection may be used.

Similarly, the tactile interface layer 100 preferably includes a processor that functions to interpret the detected gesture as a command. The processor may include a storage device that functions to store a plurality of force types (for example, the magnitude of the force or the duration of the applied force) and command associations and/or user preferences for interpretations of the force as commands. The processor may be any suitable type of processor and the storage device may be any suitable type of storage device, for example, a flash memory device, a hard drive, or any other suitable type. The processor and/or storage device may alternatively be a processor and/or storage device included into the device that the tactile interface layer 100 is applied to. However, any other suitable arrangement of the processor and/or storage device may be used.

As shown in FIGS. 7-9, in the first preferred embodiment of the method S100, the force on the deformed particular region is interpreted as a command for the firmness of the deformed particular region Step S130 and the firmness of the deformed particular region is manipulated based on the command Step S140. The manipulation of the firmness of the deformed particular region may alternatively be thought of as manipulating the degree of deformation of the deformed particular region. For example, a fully deformed particular region 113 is of the highest firmness degree while a medium deformed particular region 113 is of a medium firmness degree. In the variation of the tactile interface layer as described above, manipulating the deformed particular region based on the command to change the firmness of the deformed particular region preferably includes manipulating the volume of fluid 112 within the fluid vessel 127. As the pressure within the volume of fluid 112 is increased, the firmness of the resulting deformed particular region 113 will also increase. Similarly, as the pressure within the volume of fluid 112 is decreased, the firmness of the resulting deformed particular region 113 will also decrease. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, as the pressure of the volume of fluid 112 is changed, size of the deformed particular region 113 may change due to the elasticity of the layer 110. In this variation, a change in firmness of the deformed particular region 113 may also be thought of as a change in the size and/or height of the deformed particular region 113. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the pressure of the volume of fluid 112 corresponding to the deformable region is increased and the resulting deformed particular region 113 is both stiffer and taller than the original deformed particular region 113. In a second example as shown in FIG. 8, the pressure of the volume of fluid 112 is decreased and the resulting deformed particular region 113 is both less stiff and less tall than the original deformed particular region 113. In a third example, the pressure of the volume of fluid 112 corresponding to the deformable region is increased to increase the surface area of the deformed particular region 113. In this variation, the height of the deformed particular region 113 may change, but it may alternatively remain the same. However, any other suitable combination of firmness and size of the deformed particular region resulting from the manipulation of the firmness of the deformed particular region 113 in Step S140 may be used.

In a variation of the first preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the step of manipulating the deformable region may include undeforming the deformed particular region 113 such that the particular region of the surface 113 is no longer deformed. In other words, the firmness and/or the height of the deformed particular region is “removed” or decreased to zero. This may be a useful tactile experience where the user is to select items from a list, for example, a check box or a “YES/NO” selection box to tactilely indicate to the user when a certain selection has already been made. However, any other suitable application of this variation of the first preferred embodiment may be used.

As shown in FIGS. 10-11, in the second preferred embodiment of the method S100, the tactile interface layer preferably includes a first and a second particular region 113 a and 113 b, and the force on the first deformed particular region 113 a is interpreted as a command to undeform the first particular region 113 a and to deform the second particular region 113 b Step S230, and the first and second particular regions 113 a and 113 b are manipulated based on the command Step S240. The first and second particular regions 113 a and 113 b may be substantially proximal to each other, for example, along the same face of the device. Alternatively, the first and second particular regions 113 a and 113 b may be substantially distal fro each other, for example, the first particular region 113 a may be on a first face of the device and the second particular region 113 b may be on a second face of the device. In this variation, the first face of the device may include a display and the second face of the device may not include a display. However, any other suitable arrangement of the first and second particular regions 113 a and 113 b may be used. The force may alternatively be interpreted as a command to further deform the first particular region 113 a and to undeform the second particular region 113 b. However, any other suitable combination of deformation and undeformation of the first and second particular regions 113 a and 113 b may be used. The interpreted command may be to fully undeform the first particular region 113 a and to fully deform the second particular region 113 b, which may provide the user with a “rocker switch” type of experience, as shown in FIG. 10. In this variation, both the first and second particular regions 113 a and 113 b may be located on the same device, for example, to provide a tactile experience where the user is to toggle between two selections for a particular, for example, “Audio ON” and “Audio OFF” to toggle a location within a game, for example, selecting tiles within the popular Minesweeper game. Alternatively, the second particular region 113 b may be located on a second tactile interface layer 100 that is applied to a second device, where the second device is linked to the first device, for example, through the Internet, through a WiFi connection, through a Bluetooth connection, or any other suitable connection. Control of the second tactile interface layer 100 is may be independent of the control of the first user interface 100; for example, the second particular region 113 b may be deformed independently of the first particular region 113 a. Alternatively, control of the second tactile interface layer may be linked to the control of the first tactile interface layer 100. This may be a useful tactile experience where the first device and the second device are transmitting tactile communication, for example, when a user using the first device creates a pattern by undeforming a pattern of deformed particular regions 113 and another user using the second device “sees” the pattern that the first user is creating deformable particular regions 113 corresponding to the undeformed particular regions 113 on the first device are deformed. This type of feature may be used in a gaming device or gaming application where a first player uses tactile communication with a second player. However, any other suitable application of a “rocker switch” type active response may be used.

Alternatively, the interpreted command may be to undeform the first particular region 113 a to a particular degree and to deform the second particular region 113 b to a particular degree, as shown in FIG. 11. The degree to which to undeform and deform the first and second particular regions 113 a and 113 b may be determined based on the detected attributes of the force. In a first example, the magnitude of the force may determine the particular degrees. In the variation where the tactile interface layer includes fluid 112 and a pressure sensor, the pressure increase within the fluid 112 may be used to determine the magnitude of the force. However, the magnitude of the force may be determined using any other suitable method, for example, the applied force may displace the volume of fluid 112 from one location within the fluid vessel 127 to another. The magnitude of the force may be determined by measuring the amount of fluid displacement. In a second example, the duration of the applied force may be used to determine the particular degrees. In the variation where the tactile interface layer includes a sensor that is a capacitive sensor, the presence of the finger of the user may be detected and the period of time for which the presence of the finger is detected may be used to determine the particular degrees. In a third example, the rate at which the force is applied may be used to determine the particular degrees. As described above, the volume of fluid 112 displaced by the applied force may be measured. In this variation, the rate at which the force is applied may be determined by detecting the rate at which the volume of fluid 112 is displaced. However, the particular degrees to which to undeform and deform the first and second particular regions 113 a and 113 b may be interpreted from the detected force using any other suitable method.

Additionally, the particular degrees to undeform and deform the first and second particular regions 113 a and 113 b may be percentages of the full deformation of each of the particular regions 113 a and 113 b, where the sum of the percentage of deformation of the first and second particular regions 113 a and 113 b is 100%. In other words, the command may include undeforming the first particular region 113 a to 25% of full deformation and deforming the second particular region 113 b to 75% of the full deformation. This may provide a tactile experience to the user that is similar to pushing a mass from one location to another location, where there is a conservation of mass. Alternatively, the percentages may have a sum of greater than or less than 100%. For example, the command may include deforming each of the first and second particular regions 113 a and 113 b to 60% of full deformation. However, any other suitable command for the undeformation and deformation of the first and second particular regions 113 a and 113 b may be interpreted.

In the variation of the tactile interface layer 100 as described above, the fluid vessel 127 includes a first cavity 125 a that corresponds to the first particular region 113 a and a second cavity 125 b that corresponds to the second particular region 113 b. The displacement device 130 is preferably actuated to expand the second cavity 125 b and retract the first cavity 125 a. Retraction of the first cavity 125 a (or the undeformation of the first particular region 113 a) and the expansion of the second cavity 125 b (or the deformation of the second particular region 113 b) preferably happen substantially concurrently, as shown in FIG. 10. In this variation, when the force and command are interpreted on the deformed first particular region, as shown in FIG. 10a , the volume of fluid within the first cavity 125 a is decreased while the volume of fluid within the second cavity 125 b is increased, as shown in FIG. 10b . A volume of fluid 112 may be transferred between the first and second cavities 125 a and 125 b by the displacement device 130, but the displacement device 130 may alternatively displace any other suitable volume of fluid 112 from and to the first and second cavities 125 a and 125 b. For example, the displacement device 130 may displace a volume of fluid towards the first and second cavities 125 a and 125 b through the valve 139, and the valve 139 directs a first portion of the fluid towards the first cavity 125 a and a second portion of the fluid towards the second cavity 125 b.

As described in the first preferred embodiment, a change in the volume of fluid within the first and second cavities 125 a and 125 b may also be thought of as a change in the firmness of the corresponding deformed particular region 113 a and 113 b, respectively. In a variation of the second preferred embodiment, the undeformation and deformation of the first and second particular regions 113 a and 113 b may alternatively be thought of as a decrease in firmness of the first particular region 113 a and an increase in firmness of the second particular region 113 b. An exemplary usage of this variation of the second preferred embodiment may be in a user interface that includes two buttons for increasing and decreasing a particular feature of the device, for example, the volume of sound output. The deformed first particular region 113 a may represent the “increase volume” button and the second particular region 113 b may represent the “decrease volume” button. As a force is detected on the first particular region 113 a, the firmness of the first particular region 113 a may be increased and the firmness of a second particular region 113 corresponding to a “decrease volume” button decreases, representing the shift towards the higher range along the range of available volume outputs. However, any other suitable application of this variation may be used.

In the method S100 of the first and second preferred embodiments, the interpretation of the force detected on the deformed deformable region as a command may be adjusted based on the state of the deformed deformable region. For example, if a force is detected when the deformed deformable region is not fully deformed, the command may be to increase the firmness and if a force is detected when the deformed deformable region is fully deformed, the interpreted command may be to decrease the firmness. In a second example, the interpretation of a command when a force is detected as a deformable region is being expanded may be different from when a force is detected as a deformable region is being undeformed. However, any other suitable interpretation of the force as a command based on the state of the deformed deformable region may be used.

While the interpretation of a force detected on a deformed particular region 113 as a command is preferably one of the variations described above, the interpretation may alternatively be a combination of the variations described above or any other suitable combination of gestures and commands, for example, a force may be detected on an undeformed deformable region and then interpreted as a command for the deformable region. However, any other suitable type of force detection and force interpretation may be used.

As a person skilled in the art will recognize from the previous detailed description and from the figures and claims, modifications and changes can be made to the preferred embodiments of the invention without departing from the scope of this invention defined in the following claims. 

I claim:
 1. A method for actuating a tactile interface layer coupled to a device, the tactile interface layer comprising a surface and a substrate, the surface defining a deformable region and a second region adjacent the deformable region, the substrate defining a fluid vessel adjacent the deformable region, the method comprising: displacing fluid into the fluid vessel to transition the deformable region from a retracted setting to an expanded setting tactilely distinguishable from the second region and offset above the second region by a first height; at a sensor coupled to the tactile interface layer, detecting an input applied at the deformable region in the expanded setting; substantially simultaneously, detecting an increase in pressure of fluid in the fluid vessel; in response to the force, displacing fluid out of the fluid vessel to transition the deformable region from the expanded setting offset above the second region by the first height to a second setting offset above the second region by a second height less than the first height, a change in height between the expanded setting and the second setting proportional to the increase in pressure. 